Test of Time!

[Snowesque]

New Leaf has maintained a dedicated player base years after its initial release. What aspect(s) do you feel the game contributed to its enduring appeal after such a long time?

 

[Mr.Fox]

I liked many of the Public Works Projects, and although NH gave us some cool stuff, I think NL ultimately had better items.

 

[-Blue-]

Definitely better online and multiplayer for the island/tours helped it immensely. If it weren't for the games, I don't think NL would've done as well as it did. Take NH for instance. Even during launch people were pointing out how there wasn't much to do online with friends after checking out what they had done to their island.

 

[Hat']

The multiplayer aspect is the biggest asset for me. The island games are so fun and so is the island itself with meeting strangers and getting to be friends!
I also really like the progression aspect which is far more developped than it is in NH.

 

[Doo]

The progression - I still have loads of stuff to unlock in New Leaf but after the first few weeks all that’s really left in New Horizons is decorating and completing the museum

 

[xSuperMario64x]

tools that don't explode in your hands lmao

I personally feel like the game has a much more cozy and gentle atmosphere. New Horizons seems so... in-your-face and overly cheery I guess? it's hard to explain. it just doesn't feel as cozy as New Leaf and older games.

 

[Acies]

So much to do, even if most of it wouldn't be necessary (or even "cluttered"); I think it's a good balance between goal-focused activities and regular gameplay from pre-New Leaf titles. New Horizons is too streamlined for my taste, too focused on decorating, and the villagers don't intrigue me. New Leaf feels much more intricate, and if you're going fo achievements, most of the badges are hard to earn, I still haven't finished my encyclopedias, and I'm far from having enough bells. I also prefer the items.

 

[daringred_]

i'm also going to echo online mutliplayer and better progression. the former, i think, is obvious in the distinct lack of it in NH, and for the latter, i personally felt that at a certain point in NH (and it didn't take long to get there, partly because of the update model), the game would stagnate very harshly unless you were super into the decorating sim aspect they leaned into. there wasn't a lot, really, in terms of things to unlock and milestones. or, at least it didn't feel as such in comparison to NL, where the unlockables also had more character -- learning emotions from shrunk performances rather than villagers, badges from phineas rather than nook stamps in your phone etc.

i also think (again, at least for me) that this charm in NL added to its longevity. things weren't as streamlined as they were made in NH, which removed even things like moving out letters for no reason. NH was much easier to drop for me, personally, because it always felt less personable and, at a certain point, there was nothing to do except decorate. even in the endgame of NL, you could farm bells for the set of bank rewards you would get for saving x amounts.

 

[Sharksheep]

The progression for developing something and multiplayer for sure.

I think some version of Happy Home dlc will stick around too

 

[Irescien]

I agree with a lot of what people are saying yeah, definitely the multiplayer aspect with the games, I really held out for the games eventually coming in an update for new horizons but I was disappointed everytime. Especially since there were lots of complaints early on that there was nothing to do with friends, they made a big deal out if 8 player multiplayer and gave people nothing to do. The new leaf island games were something I always enjoyed doing over and over again, there was also multiple choices, it was a challenge. They had the formula already, a ton of games they just had to redo for new horizons but never did.

I also agree with what someone said about the decor being better, going back to the game reminded me of so many decor items. Also! The rooms in the house being bigger, i remembered nl rooms being easier to layout and now i know why. Also it being an upgrade i think is nice

I think PWPs also have a lot of charm to them, i did really enjoy decorating in new leaf. While i do prefer the more freedom in decorating outside in NH i do wish they at least brought back more of the pwps designs even just as items

I feel like im just ranting now lol, but i do find it interesting some personalities do feel different in a bunch of the games too, i think new leaf did pretty good with their villager dialogue, they do still repeat stuff and i think it got rid of enough of the aggressiveness some people complained about, but still kept some of the charm of it, i was a bit annoyed i feel like villagers barely get mad or cranky in nh, straying further and further from the charm in the first game

 

[oath2order]

New Leaf has maintained a dedicated player base years after its initial release. What aspect(s) do you feel the game contributed to its enduring appeal after such a long time?

The fact that it's so different from the prior games. It was a huge shake-up, actually getting to be mayor and decorate the outside of the town and your house.

There was so much that the game did that was different.

 

[Hypno KK]

There's so much stuff to do and different things to try. It has elements that are unique to it, too, so it can't be completely replaced by any other ac games. I guess that's true of most games in the series!

 

[-Blue-]

There's so much stuff to do and different things to try. It has elements that are unique to it, too, so it can't be completely replaced by any other ac games. I guess that's true of most games in the series!

No, I totally get that. I can't remember much about NH during launch, but I got NL for Xmas 2014 and I still remember the first few days so well. There was a lot to do at the start, lots of stuff happened or was unlocked over time, and if I was bored of one thing I could go and do something else.

With NH especially launch date there wasn't a lot going on. The only thing I do remember is finishing the 100 fish caught nook mile on the first night. Terraforming and designing dominated the game and when you grow bored of that it's not like you can go off and do something else, you know?

 

[Hypno KK]

No, I totally get that. I can't remember much about NH during launch, but I got NL for Xmas 2014 and I still remember the first few days so well. There was a lot to do at the start, lots of stuff happened or was unlocked over time, and if I was bored of one thing I could go and do something else.

With NH especially launch date there wasn't a lot going on. The only thing I do remember is finishing the 100 fish caught nook mile on the first night. Terraforming and designing dominated the game and when you grow bored of that it's not like you can go off and do something else, you know?

Exactly. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy NH and like other entries in the series, I consider it to be its own unique thing. There are many things I enjoy, like the graphics, the ability to place furniture outside, etc.

However, compared to NL and to what little I've played of other AC games, it feels less dynamic in a sense. One of the things that makes me feel this way is that there isn't much to do or many secrets to discover. The bulk of the game revolves around decorating and other features are missing or feel kind of bland. I like decorating (I've played HHD and later HHP a lot!) but it's just not the same.

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

Honestly, I believe the reason that New Leaf has had SUCH a lasting appeal is that it greatly improved upon past entries. The series was never immensely popular but New Leaf and the 3DS created a larger player base and since the game still retained features of past titles it captured both new players and old players. Everyone loved the game, it's improvements, and the Welcome Amiibo update inspired people to fall in love with the game all over again after a few years. There were many things that made New Leaf pretty much the definitive AC experience aside from the unique features of each past entry. I feel like New Horizons was too much of a soft reboot and changed some of the things that made AC special and did not improve upon absolutely everything in the way New Leaf did, it definitely paved the way for designing but so many other games do it even better than NH and New Leaf was much more UNIQUE in both it's gameplay and motivation to keep players interested. AC can't really be compared to much but a designing game can.

Plus the online was incredible compared to past games which helped build a community! All of the secrets, tools, shop upgrades, streetpass items and more just scratch the surface of how global the appeal of this game was.